State Bank & Trust has added the name "Bell" to its familiar name and "trees" logo, rebranding the Fargo-based, independently owned bank as "Bell State Bank & Trust."

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The name change became effective Sunday, Sept. 23, with Monday, Sept. 24, as the first day of business as Bell State Bank & Trust.

"With more than 200 banks in our region that have the words 'State Bank' in their name, there is confusion about 'which State Bank' we are," said Bell State Bank & Trust president Michael Solberg, adding that the bank regularly receives calls from across the country from people who think they are calling a "State Bank" somewhere else in the U.S.

Even in Hawley, where Bell State Bank & Trust opened its newest location, there is already a "State Bank of Hawley."

Solberg said the "Bell" name was borrowed from the bank's Bell Mortgage division, which State Bank & Trust purchased in early 2011.

Founded in 1880 by early Minneapolis leader David C. Bell, Bell Mortgage is a highly respected company with more than half a million family mortgages to its name.

"We felt the Bell name fit perfectly with our company's reputation and culture," said Solberg.

Solberg said Bell State Bank & Trust has been through several name changes and logo variations during its 44-year history, and the bank's values of a family atmosphere, personal service and giving back to the community have never changed.

The bank's headquarters remain in Fargo, and its majority stockholders, the Snortland and Solberg families, remain the owners and were key decision-makers for the name change.

Bell State Bank & Trust's lakes area locations are at 920 Lake Avenue in Detroit Lakes, 385 Eagle Street in Audubon, 15 North Broadway in Pelican Rapids, and 205 West Washington Avenue in Fergus Falls.

"We are committed to remaining a locally based, independently owned bank for generations to come," said Solberg.

Founded in 1966 in Fargo, N.D., Bell State Bank & Trust is the largest independently owned bank in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

The bank has 17 full-service banking locations in North Dakota and Minnesota, more than $2.2 billion in bank assets, and more than $3 billion in assets under management by its Wealth Management Division.

Bell State Bank & Trust opened two new locations (both formerly First National Bank) in Hawley and Dilworth on Monday; its first Twin Cities bank, located west of downtown Minneapolis in Golden Valley, opened in April.